Ratner's Anti-Globalization Rant: No Foreigners Should Own Ports

Fox & Friends Weekend/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

by Mark Finkelstein

February 25, 2006

Look for Ellen Ratner on the barricades next time the World Trade Organization gets together for a coffee klatsch. On this morning's Fox & Friends Weekend, Ratner hurled the verbal equivalent of a paving brick through the window of a Mickey D's. Ratner escalated the flap over the UAE ports deal to an entirely new level, claiming no foreign companies, regardless of nationality, should control our ports, or for that matter other significant chunks of our economy.

Claimed Ratner, the real issue is "what kind of jobs, what kind of outsourcing are we going to do in this country?"

When fellow "Long & the Short of It" guest Jim Pinkerton said that foreign policy considerations [such as the potential relevance of the port deal to our ability to get intelligence and site bases in the Middle East] are more important than who gets port jobs, Ratner replied skeptically "is it?" Apparently for Ratner, the ability of the longshoremen's union to place a favored few of its own is more important than our country's national security objectives.

When host Page Hopkins suggested that the debate had become muddled because people didn't understand that the UAE company wouldn't have responsibility for port security, Ratner steered things back to her anti-globalization polemic:

"I don't think that is the issue: the issue is where do we outsource who owns airplanes, railroads, all those kind of things."

Hopkins: "Are we going to cherry pick and hold Arabs to different standards?"

Ratner:

"No, no, I would feel the same way, when I realized that Britain was running the ports I felt the same way. It has nothing to do with the Arab situation. It has to do with what are we outsourcing - who owns what in America?"

Hopkins: "But if we stop all foreign investment?, where will that leave us?"

Ratner: "We have outsourced everything [sic] and now our standard of living as statistics show this week has gone down."

Pinkerton, while expressing his own concerns about the ports deal and advocating a thorough vetting during the 45-day delay, scored this point: "It doesn't hurt our standard of living to allow foreigners to invest $8 billion in the US."

But Ratner couldn't be budged from her xenophobia:

"We don't allow our radio stations to be owned by foreign investment. There are certain things we don't allow. It has nothing to do with whether they're Arabs or Canadians or British. The fact is there are certain industries we're keep in America and we're not doing that and that's a big problem."

Continued the suddenly jingoistic Ratner: "Why don't we have American companies owning some ports in China or Dubai or anywhere else? Why has American business given up on this? We're a strong country. We ought to be owning ports."

Ellen Ratner and Patrick Buchanan - who knew?

[raybbr]

Ooooh, Dane!!

Answer a question with a non-sequitor question. How diabolical of you.

[Just mythoughts]

"Continued the suddenly jingoistic Ratner: "Why don't we have American companies owning some ports in China or Dubai or anywhere else? Why has American business given up on this? We're a strong country. We ought to be owning ports."


Ratner has some valid questions, however, I wonder does she support closing down Gitmo, or the "no profiling" legislation getting penned in Congress. Does she support McCain's illegal invasion legislation?

These liberals were in a global love fest while Clintonism was reaping foreign monies to get reelected and those special transfers of security intel, or JFKerry singing his can't we all just get along prez campaign.

These liberals in one breath sound like terrorist moooolahs and in the next breath sound like the 60's hippies. Wait maybe there is no difference when all layers are peeled away.

[Dane]

Answer a question with a non-sequitor question. How diabolical of you

It's not a non-sequitor. Ratner who had no problem with hillary pushing deals with the chicomms is all of the sudden outraged and is obviously pandering to you like a woman in a fake fur working on a streetcorner and she has your tongue wagging.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

If Pres. Bush had publicly announced that he had vetoed a proposed UAE port deal, I am absolutely convinced that Ratner would have been on there today denouncing Bush for anti-Arab bigotry and ethnic profiling.

Ratner has only one guiding principle: hatred of Republicans and opposition to anything proposed by the Bush administration.

[fragrant abuse]

Oh god here we're go again. Can I just point out, for the gazillionth time, that no foreigners are going to "own" our ports?

Ratner has lost it. Apparently we're supposed to conjure into existence an American company capable of and willing to manage these ports.

Or does she want the government to take control of them? Just what we need, bigger government running more stuff.

[randita]

Why do you guys seem so determined for America to offshore, outsource and capitulate to foreign govts?

1. In many cases, there are no U.S. companies or workers who will or can do the job?

2. It's reciprocal. Companies in the U.S. have holdings in other countries and they have holdings in ours. Cutting off that reciprocity would mean a huge number of U.S. employees would be out on the streets and many jobs there will be no one to do many of the jobs that need to be done here.

3. We're not capitulating to a foreign government. DWP is a private company.

Like it or not, we participate in a global economy and if we didn't, my husband and I, for sure, would not have jobs and would be living in our pop up somewhere growing our own fruits and vegetables.

[1rudeboy]

"Why don't we have American companies owning some ports in China or Dubai or anywhere else?"

Some people here would call that outsourcing, Ellen.

[G.Mason]

Only Americans running ports?

Would that be only the white Americans, who can trace their family tree to the Mayflower?

She can't mean the "other" Americans like Afro-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Italians, etc. etc. that have assimilated, or illegals, and other assorted Riff Raff, that have been given "rights" by the liberal establishment, can she?

And these "Americans"? Do they swear on the Holy Grail that they will be ever faithful to the United States, like John Effin Kerry, Turban Durbin, Chappaquiddick Kennedy? Or do they just have to have the intelligence of Hillary Clinton, Sheila Jackson Lee and Major Owens?

Someone turn on the bilge pumps. We're going down! ;)

[PGalt]

Lots of division on the left and right on this topic. As I stated on JimRob's thread I haven't studied it in depth but I lean slightly for the deal.

Thanks for the ping. Interesting thread.

[edpc]

Was that said with a lisp? Just asking cause I just looked at your picture on your profile page.

LOL. Careful.....you may be reported for "abuthe", you brute!

[Russ]

Are there any American companies in this line of business or that bid for the operations? I heard that another bidder was a company in Hong Kong. I guess that would be better, having them run by a Chinese Communist company.

The solution from liberals is predictable, let the government take over running the operations. Now that's scary...

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Thanks, PG. I haven't seen so much internecine warfare at FR since the Harriet Miers fiasco.

[Dallas59]

He could care less about ports and whatever...In his mind....

IT'S ALL ABOUT BUSH!!

[raybbr]

3. We're not capitulating to a foreign government. DWP is a private company.

It is a company partly owned by the state of Dubai.

[Carolinamom]

Numb skull Ratner doesn't know that we DO OWN our ports. I haven't heard a word from her or other dems about Carter;s GIVING away the Panama Canal, which the Chinese now control.....or the Chinese operating the California ports.

Memo to Sen. Diane Feinstein: Did YOU object to the Chinese/Singapore operating in your state, or did you and your husband benefit financially from it?

[Echo Talon]

Continued the suddenly jingoistic Ratner: "Why don't we have American companies owning some ports in China or Dubai or anywhere else? Why has American business given up on this? We're a strong country. We ought to be owning ports."

I'd like to ask Ratner why don't we "operate" ports right here in America? No American Companies "lease" terminals in the US.

[JLGALT]

"So....let me get this straight. In the 90's it was OK for the Chinese getting a quantum boost from Loral in their missile technology. It was also fine for Chinese owned Hutchinson Lampoa to have control over the ports at the Panama canal."

You failed to mention the millions that the Chi-coms pored into clinton's campaign coffers and the millions they paid for that presidential "whorehouse" in Little Rock!

[Echo Talon]

:D I hope that he doesn't take it personally. LOL just messin' around

[jigsaw]

Maybe we can convince the UAE to take over the Media rather than the Ports.

Mark, thank you for your wonderful reports here on FR. I read everything you write and really appreciate your dedication and efforts.

[randita]

Ellen Ratner must want folks like these running our ports: